GC10 At The Daikoku

It’s been a while since I did a Throwback Thursdays post. In fact it’s been a while since I’ve posting anything other than Formula 1 racing!

I’ve said it before, but red is by far the best color on the Hakosuka. I think it accentuates so many details on the body that get lost with the more popular colors like white and grey.

One of the major advantages to modifying a Japanese classic is that you don’t have to do much to the exterior. Most of the more popular cars look great bone stock. Fender flares, wheels, a drop and you’re good to go.

I need to make a pilgrimage to the Daikoku parking area one of these days.

Photos courtesy of Kevin Pratt.

Throwback Thursdays: Advan RG

I love timeless design. Whether it’s a Fender Stratocaster, a pair of Ray Ban Wayfarers or a Moleskine notebook, their shelf lives are limitless because they will always be cool. It’s the simplicity in their designs, that keeps them relevant through the years.

The Advan RG is timeless. Its 6-spoke design, set the groundwork, for many Advan Racing wheels to follow.

The wheel’s elegance is found in its simplicity; the curved spokes, with the slightest rounded edges and the indigo blue stripe, outlining the lip. In a gold finish, the RG is nothing short of iconic.

Advan currently has the best wheel lineup of any other brand and nearly all of the their designs, share some DNA with the RG.

I want these wheels, not just because they’re beautiful, but because they’re a reflection of the era, in which my car originates. They were made famous on the JUN Super Lemon Impreza, amongst dozens of other demo cars, from the turn of the century.

Of course, the RG is something of a unicorn these days. To find a set in good shape is a rarity. To find them in the proper sizing, next to impossible. I came across this particular set on an Australian GT-R forum, 2 years ago. I believe they’re 17×9.5, which is exactly the size I’d look for. These with 255s, would make for an aggressive combination. Timeless design gets better with age and I’m confident the RG will look great, no matter how many years pass.

Cyber GT-R

One of the bigger stories from Tokyo Auto Salon was the unveiling of the Cyber GT-R. It’s the latest project from Takizawa-san, the mastermind behind the record breaking Cyber Evo.

Cyber GT-R’s driver Tarzan Yamada, was on hand to briefly explain the project and introduce some of it’s sponsors.

No your eyes aren’t fooling you, that is indeed JDM Insider’s Toshi Hayama. You may also recognize C-West’s President, Omoto-san from JDM Insider, Volume 1.

The car is a long way off from competition, but it seems to be in good hands. Hopefully Voltex will get involved at some stage down the road.

Video courtesy of inline4Movie.

Okachan’s C-SER STi

C-SER is the Impreza tuning division of Yashio Factory, one of Japan’s premier Silvia shops. The company’s owner Mr. Okamura is well known throughout the tuning community for his outgoing personality and flamboyant style.

Okachan gained an interest in Subarus after purchasing a GRB STi as his daily driver. Taking advantage of his experience with Yashio Factory, the STi eventually became a testbed for new parts, including suspension and exhaust components. From there C-SER evolved into it’s own unique brand, specializing in the Impreza GRB and GVB models.

Only Okachan would be able to pull off a lime green STi.

This car has seen many different looks over the last few years. It was originally black on black, with Advan RG-D wheels. Currently it’s taken on more of a demo car look, appearing in both Option and Hot Version DVD’s. The car’s most recent outing was at Tsukuba Super Battle, where it recorded a lap time of 1’01″925.

The C-SER Impreza is currently fitted with the sporty Advan TC-III, wrapped in Neova AD08 rubber. To the left is a glimpse of the company’s newest piece, the Urban Titan Muffler, a quad-tip titanium exhaust weighing around 15 lbs.

Enjoying the circuit life is the tuning philosophy behind this car. Okachan’s goal was to create the ultimate street car; one that could run a blistering lap around the track, without sacrificing comfort and quietness. Although, something tells me that new titanium exhaust is pretty loud.

The C-SER Impreza is equipped with a host of HKS products including their front mount intercooler and a GT2835 turbine. The carbon turbo inlet hose is an original C-SER piece. The whole thing was tuned by Okachan on C-SER’s EcuTek.

If I’m honest, the appearance of this car is pretty ghastly. That lime green paint is for the birds. I’d almost prefer to see it in Yashio Factory pink. At least that color would be relevant to STi.

With that said, it’s very exciting to see another player in the Subaru market and even better that it’s someone like Mr. Okamura. He’s personality and flashiness is what the scene needs right now. I hope that C-SER continues to produce new parts for the Impreza. Maybe if we’re lucky they’ll even start making stuff for the GDB! The quality seems pretty good, although I’ve never seen the parts on any car but Okachan’s.

Photos courtesy of C-SER & Yokohama.

Step Your Wheel Game Up

The Volk CE28N is still my favorite wheel of all time. But I was thinking, what other wheels do I like from Rays Engineering?

With the exceptions of the CE28N and TE37, their lineup is dare I say, lacking? As far as total product lineup, Advan continues to be my favorite Japanese wheel manufacturer. Their booth at Tokyo Auto Salon is a testament to that.

I would rock every wheel in this photo.

For me all of Advan’s wheel designs are timeless. It’s the same case for the CE28N and TE37, but not many of Rays’ other wheels.

Now before anyone decides to pipe in and tell me I’m wrong, we’re talking about aesthetics here, so that comes down to personal opinion. You may prefer Rays, that’s fine too. I’m also not arguing performance here. I know that Volks are forged and most Advans are cast. Although after owning the RS for 6 years, they’ve held up great.

On a different note, I think Enkei have been killing it lately.

Photos courtesy of Car Watch.

HKS Kansai Service GVB

For whatever reason, there seems to be a real lack of GVB demo cars in Japan. Look around the paddocks of any lap battle or meet and you’re unlikely to find many. The GRB is still fairly new and that could explain the lack of interest. I suspect the real reason has something to do with the GT-R. As far as AWD platforms are concerned, the R35 is king and will probably remain as such. Japan has also  seen a growing interest in European tuning and that’s definitely had an impact on the domestics.

Despite this, HKS Kansai Service has been involved with Imprezas since the beginning and they’ve not stopped with the latest iteration.

I’ve been hunting this car down for ages. It first came to my attention at Hyper Meeting a couple years ago.

All the usual areas have been upgraded with the latest and greatest from HKS. Kansai Service also produces their own original parts, including my all time favorite rear diffuser and the carbon intake box above.

As with all the HKS demo cars, Yokohama has taken care of the wheels and tires: 19×8.5 Advan RZ-DF’s and Neova AD08′s.

You may have noticed, I’ve avoided a rather obvious problem from the first photo. It’s a problem that has been plaguing all HKS Kansai Service demo cars, in recent years.

The global economy is still bad, I’m preaching to the choir. It’s had a major effect on the Japanese aftermarket industry, I’m still preaching. This has caused a lot of companies to cut costs on manufacturing, including moving production to places like mainland China. Some say despite being made in China, the quality hasn’t changed. Others would disagree. You may be wondering where I’m going with this and what it has to do with the HKS Kansai Service GVB.

The bad economy and cheaper manufacturing processes, have opened the floodgates for a slew of knockoff brands. Many of which are slowly eating away at the Japanese aftermarket industry, forcing shops to close their doors. The ones that are still weathering the storm, have had to reduce their line up of products. This could be another reason why we see so few GVB Impreza demo cars. It’s just too expensive to create new parts for every make and model that are released. Brands like Seibon have flourished in this climate, made their way to Japan and hopped into bed with companies like Rays Engineering. If you know anything about Rays, then you know they basically run the industry. This is a big reason why we’ve been seeing Seibon products, on HKS Kansai Service demo cars. It’s certainly not because Seibon has ever created something original and of quality. Money talks and you may be reminded of a certain Seibon Edition of the Volk TE37, from a few years ago.

Of course, I don’t know the entire story and that’s why I can’t really go any further with it. The most important thing to note is, where else are you going to get this kind of in depth coverage? Only on A Class can a car feature turn into a rant about the industry.

Photos courtesy of Yokohama.

Bronze, The New Gold

It’s been a while since I posted up a car for the hell of it. Although I didn’t find them there, these pictures are clearly from Global Auto’s website.

In terms of styling, nothing is of my tastes. The Do-Luck bumper doesn’t really suit this car. However, what did catch my eye, were the bronze Advan RG’s. I’ve never seen RG’s in that color before. They look dope!

That’s more like it, probably the best view of the car. I’m really loving those wheels. The RG’s have been moving up the list lately, as one of my favorite wheels. I’ve been trying to see if I can source a set with concave fitment for the WRX. It’s highly unlikely, but you never know.

Photos courtesy of Global Auto.

RG-D

The D line of Advan’s wheel models are dope. I don’t think enough people are rocking them either. I think everyone needs to see more cars like this steez for inspiration.

Advan has always kind of taken a back seat to Rays Engineering. Many will say the reason is that Advan’s wheels aren’t forged. It’s not that big of a deal though. 90% of the cars I see with Volks have never even been (or will be) to a track. I’d love to see more cars rocking these wheels. The matte black RS/RG-D’s are particularly awesome!

RS-D

My co-worker Jason is thinking about getting a set of matte black Advan RS-D’s for his Evo X. I think he’s right on the money there. Yokohama always has the cleanest cars for their wheel ads.